In 2016, Sheffield City Council cut the ‘Off The Shelf’ (OTS) literary festival in a package of austerity measures. The University stepped in to save it, but fans might’ve had cause for concern as to whether it’d remain the same. Fast forward a decade and the curtain has just closed on another successful edition of Off the Shelf, so I decided Forge Press needed to speak to exactly who kept the festival on track despite past turbulence: Who’s responsible for preserving the soul of OTS?
That’d be its curators: 3 of whom are Maria De Souza, Sara Unwin and Lesley Webster who spoke with me about their involvement in one of the biggest literary festivals in the North. All three have incredibly interesting roles within the festival. Unwin, the festival producer, joked that she “loves [her] event sheets”; as the person responsible for the budget, partnerships and production, she is integral to its operation. Both Webster and De Souza are curators – working with the publishers and other organizers to select the events that the general public will love.
“It’s quite a difficult job”, Webster told me, “because we get offered hundreds and hundreds of possibilities, and we have to really hone that down.” The role requires an expert hand, picking and attracting the right acts isn’t an easy gig. De Souza is responsible for “The Visit”: a trip to London taken by the curators in order to discuss plans with publishers across the city. “It’s wonderful, we love going, and it really helps shape the festival every year,” she says, but also highlights just how difficult making this happen can be: the publishing houses are all over the city, and all have different timetables. Unwin likened it to “programming the festival itself”.
Their hard work pays off: all three were very pleased with the events they had this year. I was curious about which events they ended up enjoying the most, and was impressed with the wide spread of their answers. De Souza first mentioned Helen Mort’s A House for Jane, an event centred around the poem of the same name that was commissioned specially for this year’s festival and to celebrate 250 years since Jane Austen’s birth. Sonita was her second pick: a young woman first nearly sold into child marriage, who talked about her extraordinary journey from the streets of Afghanistan into the rap sensation she is today. De Souza’s third was Ian Leslie’s event, talking about his book John and Paul: A Love Story in Songs. De Souza described it as “an absolute joy”.
Webster’s favourites began with Tracy Borman’s The Stolen Crown, a historical piece about the lies and secrets surrounding Elizabeth I’s death and the succession of James VI. She professed to being a “huge fan of Tudor history”, but also that “our audiences are huge fans as well”, and Borman always gets a great audience. Her other favourite was one I also enjoyed: Peter Ross’s Upon a White Horse. We were treated to Ross reading from his new book, and also a discussion about the historical artefacts across the British countryside that formed its basis. Webster called Ross an “outstanding speaker”, saying how she felt “really moved” by his book: a feeling I shared.
Unwin’s top events began with Simon Armitage and his band LYR. She said it “had been an ambition for a long time to get them to come to Sheffield”, and his event appealed both to those who liked his poetry and his music. She also highlighted the contemporary fiction they had managed to bring from Korea and Japan: Bora Chung’s The Midnight Timetable and Mizuki Tzujimura’s Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon. The festival has worked extensively with the Japan foundation, and these international author events are such a great way to celebrate the power of translation and diversity.
Unwin, Webster and De Souza have all been working with Off the Shelf for 34 years now, and I was astounded at their dedication. I asked them about how they managed to make it happen every year and what made it so special. “Have you ever organised a wedding? Or a party?” De Souza said; “it doesn’t magically happen. It takes so much work.” The festival is a full-time job: as soon as it’s over, the next year needs to start being sorted. But she highlighted how rewarding it can be. “We are all passionate about what we do. We wouldn’t have been doing this job for this length of time if we didn’t utterly believe in it and care about it…..every year is the same, but it’s different, so every year I’m enthused by it and excited by it.” Unwin agreed, and emphasised how much care Off the Shelf puts in. Many speakers go to their publishers and mention what an amazing time they had, and how respected and cared for they felt.
The quality and care of Off the Shelf is incredible to see, but in recent years as arts funding is cut across the country, barriers to putting on events like these are growing. Unwin as producer talked about how the festival didn’t get Arts Council funding this year, meaning they had nearly £80,000 less than their usual budget. This pushed them to have to look at the more commercial aspects of the festival. However, Sheffield City Council funds them specifically to platform authors for Black History Month, allowing them to be able to focus on more diverse artists who perhaps wouldn’t have those opportunities. These are the most special events for the curators: being able to see writers come in when they are debuting, and watching them grow into worldwide phenomenons. Lemn Sissay OBE, author of Let the Light Pour In, was first a guest of the festival many years ago, before he became the sensational and moving poet he is today. Hilary Mantel, before her Booker Prize wins, presented in the smallest event hall they had, returning after her prizewinning novel Wolf Hall to speak once again. Even though the Arts Council did not fund them this year, the curators don’t feel left behind: “The festival is very valued”, Unwin said. “We’re part of that much wider literary ecology in the region.” The festival is delivered by The University of Sheffield which is incredibly supportive: “the internal funding is brilliant”. This means the integrity of the festival can carry on, without having to sacrifice its quality for commercial value.
My final question was focused on A House for Jane, the poem commissioned especially for the festival. Within it, Mort focuses on the idea of a stanza as a room, and the space female authors must carve out for themselves, and the way other women can join them in this. Speaking to three women who had been running this festival for over a quarter of a century, I was blown away by their passion and capability in making it happen. I wanted to know how the ideas of Mort’s poem mirrored their own approach to platforming unheard voices. De Souza spoke about how “the festival has always been about inclusivity”, not just for women but for people of colour and local authors too. “I think it was that empowerment that she had in the poem that we also like to channel”, De Souza said, “and platform other voices, not just the norm or bestsellers”. The curators also felt proud of being able to “create some new work for the city”, and their joy in being able to commission local authors who also have a space as a national voice. “That would be the loveliest thing if we had more funding, as you would be able to do more work like that.” Webster spoke about how they had wanted to do something so much more original than an event about Austen, and this poem was an opportunity to do that “in a really fresh, original way.”
This conversation was incredibly interesting, and it was truly amazing to hear about the work of the people behind the magnificent event that is Off the Shelf. This culture of literature is so important to foster, and it was lovely to be able to catch a glimpse into the minds making it happen.
